‘Part of town’s history goes up in smoke’
AN ONLOOKER SUMMED IT UP YESTERDAY WHILE WITNESSING THE ROOFS OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS AT ANDERSTAFF MALTINGS ON FIRE AND COLLAPSING
A HISTORIC building with links to Burton’s brewing heritage has gone up in flames.
A section of the Anderstaff Maltings, off Wetmore Road, went up in flames yesterday, with three roofs consumed by fire. One had completely caved in.
The maltings were built by Burton brewers Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton between 1862 and 64.
At the time of writing, around 4.15pm yesterday, Wetmore Road was closed. Firefighters were still at the scene, but in the process of scaling their operation down to two pumps. There were even reports ash was falling in the Middleway Park car park in Burton town centre.
Earlier in the afternoon, though, thick plumes of smoke could be seen as far away as the A444 in Stapenhill, as well as Winshill’s water tower.
One onlooker told the Burton Mail: “It is such a shame. It is part of Burton’s history gone up in smoke.”
There had initially been six crews at the scene, from Burton, Uttoxeter, Tutbury, Lichfield, Cannock and Needwood, and the road was closed from its junction with Bridge Street and Wharf Road. It is understood the building has been converted into flats but it is thought no-one has yet moved in.
It is just metres away from Holy Trinity Primary School, but Staffordshire’s summer holidays meant the school was closed.
Nearby businesses and homeowners were asked to keep their windows and doors closed due to the severity of the smoke.
A neighbour living nearby said: “I didn’t know what was happening until I saw the fire engines. My first thought was to move our cars as we thought they might blow. We have been told to keep our windows closed.
“The building is being converted into flats. We can see the smoke and didn’t realise how bad it was until we went round the other side and saw a big hole in the roof.”
Russell Parker, who used to work a few buildings down, said: “It is part of The Maltings. There are new stickers in the windows which show they are new flats.
“The roof is solid timber. I was dog walking at the Washlands when we saw the smoke and thought it must be a substantial fire.
“It is sad because all these buildings have been preserved over the years and once it’s gone it’s gone. “It is such a shame. It is part of Burton’s history gone up in smoke.”
The Burton Mail saw at least three roofs belonging to the same building destroyed and crews on aerial ladders
were desperately trying to kill the flames. There were at least three jets from below being used on the roofs. Burton brewing historian Ian Webster said of the building’s history: “The maltings that are currently on fire in Wetmore Road were built by Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton between 1862-64 and were
It’s such a shame. It is part of Burton’s history gone up in smoke.
Russell Parker
known as the Anderstaff Maltings.
“They were designated as blocks 16-21 and formed part of the vast series of maltings owned by the company throughout the town. The rest: Dehli, Scutari and Shobnall Maltings have long since been demolished.
“Today’s fire is another in a long list of similar events; most recently the Goat Maltings which were once part of Peter Walker’s brewery on Clarence Street caught fire in June 2019.
“This is also not the first time the Anderstaff Maltings have been ablaze, block 21 burned in 1984 leading to its demolition. Hopefully, this fate will not be repeated for the buildings currently on fire.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been established. The ambulance service was not at the scene today, but it is not yet known for certain whether there were any casualties.